


Less Is More

by BinaBina



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, but theres a happy ending i PROMISE!!, implied mutual pining, leon is a big ol romantic but sometimes it gets in the way of achieving what he really wants, piers does not like grand gestures when feelings are on the line, raihan just wants his friends to get together already, we are all raihan, wow that sounds ominous and ok this came out the weensiest bit angstier than i intended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 08:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25348030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BinaBina/pseuds/BinaBina
Summary: As champion, Leon knew the best way to accomplish something was to go all out. Hold nothing back, give his all, shoot for the moon and the stars and everything beyond. That strategy has never failed him before, so surely it could apply to other, less battle-focused endeavors, too.Such as asking the man of his dreams out on a date.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Nezu | Piers
Comments: 18
Kudos: 60





	Less Is More

**Author's Note:**

  * For [transnezu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/transnezu/gifts).



> Ay, happy birthday, Ashe!

Raihan's always happy to receive texts from either of his best friends, but this latest one had him catapulting out of bed with a barely-restrained holler of joy. Leon's text hovers at the edge of his vision as he stumbles his way into getting dressed.

_I'm doing it today. Need your help choosing which flowers to give him! Can you meet me here?_

He about cried. Months, agonizing months, _nearly an entire year_ went by with his two best mates dancing around each other and not confessing their damn feelings when it was the most obvious thing in the world that they liked each other. It nearly drove him crazy watching those two hem and haw and twirl their hair around their fingers while waiting for the other to send some kind of "official" signal before they could a move themselves.

He loves them, don't get him wrong. Leon is an absolute ray of sunshine and Piers is a perfect overcast day, and Raihan adores them both and knows they'd be perfect for each other. They've got their own pace, needed time to accept their feelings and whatnot, so he stood back and let them do their thing (which ended up being nothing at all). But seriously, nearly a year? It's insanity.

But now. Now, _finally_ Leon decided to make a move. The guy's got a plan in place, thank Arceus, and whatever that plan might be, Piers is bound to say yes. Then everything will be sunshine and rainbows for his two best mates and he can stop tearing his hair out about them not being together already.

Leon, classic romantic gentleman he is, is probably planning on asking Piers on a fancy date to kick things off.

Strange place he wanted to meet at, though. Looks to be some kind of posh hotel-looking venue. The sort of place you'd use to host a formal dance or League soirée or any other fancy event people like to make a big deal out of.

He double checks the address, just in case. This really is the place...

Apprehension gnaws at his mind and he speeds his pace. A sharp-dressed porter opens the door for him and bows him inside, and Raihan follows his sense of dread to the first room on the left. The gigantic double doors are wide open and he can hear a lot of people at work inside.

Working for what, though? Leon only needed help picking out a gift for Piers, right...?

He steps inside and freezes. A riot of color—no, not just a riot, this is a full-on uprising, a merciless coup d'état of color—assaults his eyes. It's mostly pinks and reds and purples, but the whole botanical rainbow is present in this room. He can barely see the walls!

A cavalry of florists and their Pokémon rush in all directions, carting bouquets and fluffing displays and coordinating in raised voices. All the sweet scents tangled in the air make Raihan want to sneeze.

At the center of the whirling chaos stands Leon, back to the door, hands on his hips and proudly observing all the arrangements.

Raihan dodges a few laden florists and taps his best mate on the shoulder. "Hey, uh... what's all this?"

Leon whirls around. He's dressed to the nines, all done up in a nice suit and silk vest and tie and pocket square. "Raihan! You made it!"

"Came straight over, yeah," he brushes off. "So hey, mind explaining what's going on here?"

"Oh! Yes! I called you over because you're so much better at coordinating than I am, and you've known Piers for longer than I have, so I wanted your professional opinion on which bouquet to give to him," Leon gushes.

That explains nothing.

A pair of florists rush up at Leon's beckoning, and two enormous bouquets are thrust under Raihan's nose. They're both beautiful, one predominantly purple while the other favors pink, and Raihan's inner fashion analyst immediately takes Leon's suit into account and favors the pink one. The florists read his line of sight and nod, and Leon is made the proud wielder of an armful of cellophane-bound blooms.

"Thanks, Raihan. I hope he loves it!" The flowers are so abundant, they block out Leon's entire broad chest as he cradles them. "You were right, I should have done this so much sooner! I hope he says yes to dinner with me. I've got the restaurant on speed dial so I can book reservations if he says yes!"

Uh. There better be a bigger picture he's missing out on. Because right now it sounds like...

"Hang on for one bleeding second, mate." He grasps Leon's shoulders and lightly shakes. Man doesn't budge. "Don't tell me you rented this entire venue... hired a whole squadron to get it decorated and fancy... _just_ to ask Piers out."

Not to confess his love. Not to ask to be boyfriends. To score a date. To get Piers to go to dinner with him.

The bouquet crinkles beneath an exhilarated grin. "Of course! I couldn't think of any locations good enough to set the stage, so I thought, why not make my own?"

...The logic is sound, yet completely insane. If this were anyone other than Leon, Raihan would feel it was his moral duty to talk them out of it. But it is Leon. The man who made the Battle Tower a reality, who took on a giant skeletal dragon monster face to face, who stood undefeated as Galar's champion for over a decade. This is the one person Raihan knows who can, and has, pulled off the insane.

This, though. It's kinda... yeah. Piers isn't the kind of person who responds well to such in-your-face opulence and grandeur. He'd say yes to anything Leon does, all this is unnecessary. Hell, Leon could ask him out in a dingy back alley while presenting him with a fistful of gravel and Piers would go soft and sappy and say _yes, I'd love to, thank you for finally asking me to be yours, Leon, be sure to thank Raihan for supporting our hopeless arses all the way through this, for we could not have done it without him_. Or something along those lines.

Actually, that raises a good point. If Piers would say yes to _anything_ Leon does for him, then this might work out after all. He wants to give it the benefit of doubt for their sakes.

Raihan shakes his head and steps back, nearly knocking into a florist bustling past with an armful of lilies. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to propose," he sighs.

"Nonsense! I'd never use such a small bouquet for that." Leon beams and brandishes the flowers. Raihan's pretty sure if they were dropped onto someone's head it would result in blunt force trauma.

He gives up. There's no way he can change Leon's mind at this point. It's too late, he's on his own.

"You've never heard of less is more, have you."

A bright laugh rings through the space. If not for all the flowers and foliage acting as sound diffusers, it would echo. "Of course I have! But there's nothing 'less' about a champion time. Holding nothing back is how I got to where I am today!"

"Right," Raihan drags out. "Well... tell me how it goes, then. Best of luck, mate."

He doesn't think Leon heard him, because he's already giving extra encouragement to the people around them and wondering out loud if perhaps they could obtain taller ladders to add an extra layer of garland higher on the walls.

Raihan shakes his head and escapes the venue. Much as he'd like to give Piers a heads up on what to expect, he has faith in his other best friend's ability to be exactly what Leon needs.

* * *

Everything is perfect.

Leon stands at the center of the polished floor, surrounded by an expertly-arranged jungle of every romantic flower arrangement he could find in Wyndon.

He texted Piers to meet him here, and that was ten minutes ago. Any moment now, Piers should find his way here, onto the perfect stage to be courted off his feet.

The speech Leon rehearsed, the culmination of months of daydreaming and late-night fantasizing about the best, most romantic way he could ask Piers out if he ever got the courage, rests in his heart, primed and ready to be unleashed. He's gone over it countless times, both in his head and out loud in the privacy of his flat to get every word, rhythm, and intonation polished to shining. Today he finally gets to say it out loud, to the man he's been in love with for longer than even Raihan is aware of.

Piers and Leon have been friends for a while now, courtesy of Raihan merging his social circles together and introducing them over a spontaneous lunch. At the start, Leon wasn't too sure of how friendly he could be with the standoffish, sharp-tongued gym leader. He'd never had a full conversation with him in the entire time they'd been League-employed acquaintances. After some stumbles and discoveries that they had a lot in common, a few secret smiles and late-night hangouts, he was effectively smitten. Hopeless, Raihan's called him.

Multiple times throughout their friendship, he wanted to ask Piers out on a date, kick off a romance, but he couldn't just... ask the man to dinner out of the blue! No, something so important needed to be prepared for, meticulously planned, made into an event Piers could never forget!

He glances around the room and basks in the romantic atmosphere. It took a lot of time and preparation to put this together, but it was all necessary. He doesn't expect any less from himself, and he doesn't doubt that Piers expects the same. Piers knows him and knows to expect the absolute best from him, and Leon's here to deliver it. Leon's best is the bare minimum of what the other man deserves.

A text almost startles him.

_Is this really the right place?_

He fires off a yes, tucks his phone away, and waits.

His suit is getting warmer under the collar with every passing second. Leon stands straight and tall without adjusting anything, because this is it, this is the moment, when the man of his dreams walks through those doors, steps into a fairy tale, hears his confession, and if everything goes well, says yes to going out to dinner with him.

Arceus, he hopes Piers says yes to dinner with him.

His ears prick when the massive wooden doors across from him creak open. In shuffles the love of his life. He's so handsome today—every day, really, but today in particular!

Piers lifts his gaze from the floor and halts. Stares.

Leon's heart is hammering louder than any championship battle could urge it. A crowd's cheers and jeers could never get his blood racing as much as seeing Piers stand there, eyes wide, taking in the colors and atmosphere and oh Arceus, now their eyes are locked and they're the only things in the room that matter, and... and...

...The speech!

Leon clears his throat and presents the heavy bouquet with a crinkle.

"Piers... There's something I need t—"

"Stop."

His tongue stumbles. He didn't plan on an interruption.

Piers glances around the room, fiddling with his choker, which is only something he does when he's either bored (Arceus please no) or nervous (just as terrible to consider).

"Leon..." Piers pauses, and sighs, and slouches further into the room. "This ain't exactly what I expected when you texted me."

The most he allows himself to wilt is a droop of the bouquet. The crackle of cellophane feels louder than the snap of sap popping within burning firewood.

"It's... not?"

Is it not enough? Piers must have been expecting more from him. Maybe he chose the wrong flowers. Too much pink and red, not enough black? Is the room too bright? Not enough natural light, perhaps? He _knew_ he should have gone with the penthouse venue, but he didn't want to make Piers walk too far and take a long elevator trip to something that's supposed to be a special, spontaneous surprise.

The way Piers avoids his gaze says it all.

"Look... you're real sweet, but..."

He can feel his heart cracking already. He failed. He didn't make this special enough and now Piers is going to say no because he couldn't be good enough for the man who deserves everything in the entire world.

"I'm gonna be honest with you."

He nods and tries to maintain an open, honest smile. Piers can tell him anything. Could always tell him anything. Honesty was always one of the traits he admired most about Piers, the ability to see right to the core of things and deliver exactly what needed to be heard with no bullshit. No bushes beaten around. It's always been refreshing, but this time... not so much.

He doesn't think he can adequately prepare his heart for the straightforward rejection he's about to receive.

"If I say yes to you here 'n now, it'll only reinforce that all this," Piers tosses his hand at the room, "is what made it work. I want you to do one thing for me, alright? Before you say anythin' you wanna say to me."

Hope seeps through the cracks in his heart. He knows a chance when he sees it. "A-Anything! I'll do anything, what is it?"

His thoughts are already racing to figure out any weak spots in his plan that he can reinforce. He could change up the flower arrangements. Pick a different bouquet. Or a different gift entirely. Piers has always liked jewelry and accessories, maybe presenting him with a necklace or bracelet would be better received.

A sigh drifts across the room to him. Piers still isn't looking him in the eye. "...Ditch all this."

Ditch...? Get rid of it _all?_ Surely Piers didn't mean—

"Come find me once it's all gone. Then we can talk."

The wooden doors close, leaving Leon alone, bewildered and lost in the forest of his own creation.

\- - -

Dismantling the decorations takes a long time. He called the shops back and did his best to sound just as optimistic as he had when he first called them up, but the way they were professionally silent as they took everything down told him they felt sorry for him.

He asked them to donate the arrangements to every hospital, nursing home, and Pokécenter in the city, and paid them for their time. And went home.

Leon stares at himself in the mirror. He put on his best suit and favorite colors for the occasion. Did Piers want this all gone, too?

He slides his jacket off. And the vest. Undoes the tie. Leaves himself in only dress shirt and slacks, feeling plain and naked and not at all presentable for impressing the man on his mind. It'll have to do. Piers said to find him and he can't keep him waiting.

The late evening sky is streaked with pastels and the air is cool as he walks down the stone-paved streets of Wyndon. The venue looms across the street as he passes it. Several vehicles are still idling outside, each with a different colorful logo for the shops they belong to. There go his flowers, off to beautify other spaces and make other people happy...

He's glad they're going to good places, but it still hurts to let them go. He just wanted to show something pretty to Piers. Offer him something nice and fragrant and colorful, when the man's hometown is so dreary and never has enough sunlight to keep plants alive for long. He knows Piers loves flowers. So why did he not smile when he saw the ones Leon got for him?

Maybe there's still a chance. Even if this doesn't end well for himself, if he can make Piers smile, he'll call it a win.

Optimism somewhat restored, Leon jogs across the way.

"Excuse me!"

A short, older woman bearing an armful of peonies blinks up at him. "Oh! Mister Leon, is there... still something we can do for you?"

"I'm terribly sorry about all the trouble today." He shifts his weight and bashfully nods at the flowers in her arms. "Would it be alright if I... took just one?"

Her worry phases into a warm smile. "Of course you can, dear. You paid for them, after all." She hands him a peony from the bunch, its champagne pink glowing in the dusk. "I hope that young man hears you out. He's been lingering ever since you left."

He startles. Piers is here, somewhere nearby. "Do you know where he is?"

"I saw him lurking around the bridge up that way. Seems like he's been waiting for something." She winks. "Or someone."

Leon clutches the stem and thanks her profusely before pacing down the road. The bricks clack beneath his dress shoes and compete against the rhythm of his heart against his rib cage.

None of today has gone the way he wanted, but these obstacles won't stop him from doing the absolute best he can with what he has left. It's not like this is a friendship-ending event. Not the end of the world. They'll still have each other after this, no matter how their talk turns out.

\- - -

He finds Piers leaning on the stone railing of the bridge, gazing out over the canal's dark waters. The nearest street lamp casts a warm orange glow over the scene, so despite the sun having already sunk behind the Wyndon skyline, Piers' form is colored in shades of sunset. Artificial or not, the effect is beautiful.

Leon approaches with careful steps, hiding the flower behind his back, and before he can think of something to say Piers turns around. One hand still rests on the railing, and that deep gaze freezes him where he stands.

He's looked over from head to toe, and while he already felt naked after dressing down to a simpler outfit, now he feels exposed in a way beyond the physical. Piers always had a knack for that, making people feel stripped where they stand.

"What's what you've got?" Piers queries with a tilt of his head. The warm breeze catches his bangs and they dance prettily against his face.

Leon takes a deep breath and joins his friend under the pool of light. "I know you said to leave everything behind, but..." He reveals the lone peony from behind his back. His face burns when Piers' eyes widen and he explains himself in as composed a voice he can muster. "I still wanted to give you this. I know you love flowers..."

The light makes it hard to tell, but he swears there's a dusting of pink across Piers' cheekbones. Piers slowly reaches for the flower, and cold fingers brush against Leon's as he takes it. The bloom lifts, his pretty eyes close, and the tip of his nose barely brushes against the center of the petals. Contentment smooths across his face as he inhales. There's definitely a blush there.

Leon's never wanted to kiss him so badly.

"Thank you. It's lovely." Piers' eyes flutter open. "Wasn't there somethin' you wanted to tell me?"

The eye contact jolts his heart. Yes, he had a whole speech! If only his tongue weren't so heavy in his mouth right now he could launch right into it. He wrangles his mouth into submission and takes a deep breath. Remember the words. He's rehearsed this so many times, it won't be hard.

"Piers," he starts, and builds momentum from there. "I've known you for a long time now, and even though it was only over this past year that I _really_ got to know you, it feels like... I've..."

He falters into reconsideration. He got rid of his fancy clothes, the elaborate venue... maybe he should ditch the speech, too. It is a good three minutes long, anyhow, and he doesn't think he can talk that long with Piers standing so close without losing his nerve. He's got none of his lavish trappings to support his confidence. It's just... him. And Piers. And the one flower he couldn't resist bringing along.

And isn't this all he really needs?

"Leon...?"

Piers startles when he slaps both palms against his own cheeks. He can do this! Speak from the heart, as he is, right now. What he feels, right now. Leon stands as straight as he can, arms held firmly at his sides, and takes a deep breath.

And lets it all out.

"Piers! I like you! A lot, and romantically!" Those few pebbles trigger a full tumble of words that he's helpless to stop. "You've always been someone I admired, and I couldn't believe you were interested in being friends with me after Raihan dragged you to that lunch that one day, because you really don't like spontaneous outings, but—you care about your friends so you do it anyways! You care so much about things, and you're one of the most compassionate people I've ever met!"

He can hardly hear what he's saying, his heart is thundering in his chest and echoing in his ears, and his head is full of unnavigable cotton. He's glad he left his full suit behind, otherwise he'd be overheating and sweating which isn't appealing or romantic in the slightest.

"You deserve every good thing in this world, and, and I hope that I can—that if you let me, I might be able to—perhaps give it to you? S-Starting with dinner next Saturday? Of course you can say no, I don't mean to pressure you and I hope we remain good friends even if I've botched this whole thing. I've just wanted to tell you how I feel for so long that I..."

Piers mercifully cuts his rambling off with a gentle smile that spears right through his heart. "I'd love to go to dinner, Leon. I like you, too. A lot, and romantically."

All the steel wires strung tight around his chest and shoulders are cut by those simple words. He feels sprung free, free from everything he worried about and stressed over, because how in the world could anything matter when Piers likes him back?

The relief doesn't make him any more eloquent. Quite the contrary.

"Great! Thank you, um. This is fantastic!" He laughs and tucks a lock of hair behind his ear. "I'm sorry that all my preparations earlier made you uncomfortable. I'm glad you still gave me a chance."

Piers looks off to the side and rubs his arm. "'Course I'd give you a chance... I was ready to hear you out when you told me to come meet you, but after seein' all you put into it..." He shakes his head. "I just didn't want you thinkin' that the lavishness of it all is what got me to say yes. You could've asked me to be yours any old day of the week and I'd have happily said yes, because it's you."

His eyes widen and a new kind of heat spreads from his chest to the rest of his body until every part of him is warm. Glowing. He feels he might lift off the ground.

Oblivious to how much those couple of sentences affected him, Piers continues.

"Don't get me wrong, I love how enthusiastic you are about everythin' you like. How you throw your whole being into every idea you choose to commit to. But for this one time, I couldn't let your enthusiasm potentially undermine how strong my own feelings are. I wanted my yes to be heard without any implication that it was you bein' dressed up or gettin' all those flowers that convinced me to say it. I'm sorry for ruinin' all your plans. They really were lovely."

The flower sways, delicately held between two bony hands whose visible tendons betray their tension. Leon's own hands are itching to reach out and cover them, smooth them over, but some unseen force keeps him standing still.

"I understand... I didn't think about how my plans might get in the way of your own confession." What a thrill that word is, through the sobriety of the moment. Confession. Piers really confessed to him. "I wasn't even expecting you to confess! I was too concerned with impressing you, and not concerned enough about... making a good space to actually talk. I just wanted everything to be perfect for you..."

For most of his life, that was his entire job. To be flawless, indefectible, no matter the cost or how much time and energy it took to maintain. Some things are always worth striving to be perfect for. Like his friends, and his family, and... whatever Piers is to him now.

Leon's attempt at giving his best backfired today, but... at the same time, he didn't fail. What a strange thing, to fall short, but not lose anything important. He never thought life could work like that. Not his own, at least. It's always been all or nothing, no room for anything in between.

A clack on the paving beckons him to look up. Piers is suddenly right in his face and he swallows, thoughts vacating themselves right out of his head.

"You don't have to worry about bein' perfect for me. I've already seen you at less than your best, Leon. Seen you shitfaced, seen you ugly cry, seen you angry and frustrated to tears..." Piers' voice lowers, barely riding above a whisper. "It's never stopped me from fallin' in love with you."

A breath whisks into his lungs. He feels unsteady despite being rooted to the ground.

The gap between them shrinks. Piers' lips are all he can look at before he slams his eyes shut. He thought kissing was supposed to be for the second date at the earliest, but if Piers wants to give him one now, he's sure as hell not going to say no. Piers can do anything he wants to him. If there was ever one person Leon could willingly, happily, _eagerly_ be at the mercy of, it's the man closing in on him right now.

He holds his breath, senses the presence so near his face, and finally, against his lips, touch petal-soft... petals? Wait.

Leon cracks an eye open. Piers stares right at him, eyes smiling, from inches away. When he tries to speak, a few petals slip into his mouth and he goes cross-eyed at the peony pressed between what was about to be their first real kiss.

The flower lowers, but Piers does not move. The gold of the lamplight casts a halo around him, fringed brighter around the white of his hair and starker against the black.

"You've got your date. Let me know the time and place and how fancy I should dress." A cold touch draws down his cheek and leaves fire in its short wake. Piers is suddenly near enough that Leon can smell the headiness of all the conditioner he has to use to keep his hair silky. It's a scent that puts Leon's head in the clouds without fail, to the point where even glimpsing a Pecha is enough to get him thinking about Piers.

Whispered words tickle his ear. "Until then, love."

Something soft and warm and definitely not flower petals presses against his cheek. Leon's hand drifts up and hovers over the spot as Piers draws away, not daring to touch in case it erases the tingle and renders it a memory too soon.

"Y-... Yeah... See you then..." Leon's voice is wispy in his own ears. The double-headed impact of Piers using "love" towards him _twice_ is definitely making the world spin.

The flower stem twirls within deft fingers. Piers holds it close, near his chest, and smiles one last time before turning and strolling down the street, head held the highest Leon's ever seen.

The sound of footsteps has long faded by the time Leon is able to fully process what just happened. First thing he does is dazedly pull his phone out, and send Raihan a text.

_You were right. Less is definitely more._

A winky face precedes a flurry of questions filled with exclamation marks and _finally!!!'_ s. Reality finally breaks through and Leon laughs, the rich sound lighting up the quiet street with joy. He'll let Raihan's questions and smug rambling run their courses before answering anything.

He's got a date with the love of his life to make reservations for next week.


End file.
